Donald Caldwell – författare

Day-by-day account of a German fighter squadron, one of only two Luftwaffe units to spend the entire war in the West Covers the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, the Dieppe raid, and more JG 26 was known as "The Abbeville Boys" and seen by the Allies as an elite squadron Unit flew Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s

Jagdgeschwader 26, the German elite fighter unit, was more feared by the Allies than any other Luftwaffe group. Based on extensive archival research in Europe, personal combat diaries and interviews with more than 50 surviving pilots, Caldwell has assembled a superb day-to-day chronicle of JG 26 operations, from its first air victory in 1939 to its final combat patrol in 1945.A microcosm of World War II exists in the rise and fall of this famous fighter wing. For the first two years of the war it was an even match between the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitts and Focke Wulfs; but the scales tipped in favour of the Allies in 1943 with the arrival of the Eighth US Air Force and its peerless P-51 Mustang.The book has been endorsed by the top fighter commanders of three air forces: the RAF (Johnnie Johnson), the USAAF (Hub Zemke), and the Luftwaffe (Adolf Galland) and is considered essential reading for anyone interested in the aerial war of 194145.

Day Fighters in Defence of the Reich is a detailed, comprehensive daily reference to the air operations flown by the Luftwaffe. These operations were designed to combat the daylight strategic missions by the United States Army Air Force targeting the German Reich and the western zone occupied by Germany.This volume is a unique look at the German air defences as they struggled to cope with the threat posed by the American 8th and 15th Air Forces, which were charged with destroying Germany’s critical war industries and wresting control of the air over the Reich from the Luftwaffe.The previous volume in this series, The Luftwaffe over Germany: Defence of the Reich is an award-winning narrative history published by Greenhill Books. This book extends the story in an unprecedented fashion and includes:• A brief narrative and a table of statistics detailing every mission of every Luftwaffe unit defending the Greater German Reich or the western occupied zone against strategic raids by the USAAF.• A summary of every 8th and 15th US Army Air Force strategic mission over this area in which the Luftwaffe was encountered.•Tables of monthly sorties, losses and victory claims by the USAAF and the Luftwaffe over the Reich and the western occupied zone. The growth of the American juggernaut can be followed in detail, as can the ever more futile struggle by the Reich Defence Force. The data allow validity of USAAF and Luftwaffe victory claims to be estimated.• Quarterly orders of battle and casualties for the Reich Defence Force, broken down by aircraft type. The unsuccessful struggle of the Luftwaffe to keep its fighter units up to strength while introducing superior types and the relative vulnerability of its various fighters can be seen at a glance.• Maps for 32 major missions showing the tracks of the bombers and every defending Luftwaffe unit, including their points of attack on the bombers.• 189 photographs of Luftwaffe personalities and aircraft, many previously unpublished.• 72 combat accounts by Luftwaffe pilots, most previously unpublished and all readily available in English for the first time.This unique and authoritative book is based on documents in the German, American and British government archives and German pilot logbooks and interviews from the author’s extensive collection. Caldwell is well known for his balanced presentations and the clarity of his writing. This book is a must-have for anyone with a serous interest in World War II aviation history.This book completes the story begun by Caldwell and Dr. Richard Muller in The Luftwaffe over Germany: Defence of the Reich, which won the US Air Force Historical Foundation award for Best Air Power History Book of 2008. Critical praise for this book has been widespread.

Jagdgeschwader 26, the German elite fighter unit, was more feared by the Allies than any other Luftwaffe group. Based on extensive archival research in Europe, personal combat diaries and interviews with more than 50 surviving pilots, Caldwell has assembled a superb day-to-day chronicle of JG 26 operations, from its first air victory in 1939 to its final combat patrol in 1945. 

A microcosm of World War II exists in the rise and fall of this famous fighter wing. For the first two years of the war it was an even match between the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitts and Focke Wulfs; but the scales tipped in favour of the Allies in 1943 with the arrival of the Eighth US Air Force and its peerless P-51 Mustang. 

The book has been endorsed by the top fighter commanders of three air forces: the RAF (Johnnie Johnson), the USAAF (Hub Zemke), and the Luftwaffe (Adolf Galland) and is considered essential reading for anyone interested in the aerial war of 1941–45.